Currently, various suspension devices exist, enabling the displacement of an object or a person from one point to another by means of a cable or a rope. With these devices, either the cable is driven and the object to be moved is integral with the cable, or the cable is stationary and the object is mobile on the cable. The present invention concerns the second variant.
Among the existing devices using this variant, devices known under the name of aerial rope slide, “taggle rope” or “zip lines” exist, that are made from two anchor points linked by a cable or rope along which the object or person moves. These anchor points can be at different altitudes so that gravity moves the person or object from the highest point to the lowest point.
In these devices, the person's or object's path is rectilinear since the rope or cable is tight between the two anchor points. To be more specific, it should be specified that the rope or cable presents sag and that the term rectilinear should be understood as “contained in a vertical plane”.
Given that the cable is fixed only to each of its ends, it is not possible to make very long sections, for example, several kilometers.
Other devices are also available that enable displacing suspended people or objects in which the path may include turns, that is, the path is not contained in only one vertical plane. In these devices, a metallic structure is generally used, such as a rigid rail to which the object or person to be moved is suspended and this object or person follows the rail route. This type of device presents two major drawbacks. On the one hand, it implies the set-up of a heavy structure which has a harmful impact on the environment in which it is placed. On the other hand, the cost of such an installation is relatively high.
Such a device is notably described in the patent application EP1 238 880. In the embodiment described in this document, the system comprises a rail formed of sections linked together at each end. This rail is suspended to cables supported by pylons. In this invention, the rail must be rigid because it must bear important stress, particularly on the turns. The result is also the setting up of a heavy and expensive structure which cannot be placed in some environments such as, for example, in the mountains.
Other similar devices are described, for instance, in documents EP 1 026 061 or DE 76581. These documents nevertheless do not deal satisfactorily with the management of the turns.
The present invention proposes overcoming the drawbacks of the devices of the prior art by realizing a suspension device allowing the displacement of objects or people, this device enabling realizing sections of any length, involving rectilinear zones as well as curved zones, not needing, nevertheless, an unaesthetic and expensive heavy structure.